oh, little brother
by czqy
Summary: "Oh Shouto," Dabi shakes his head and looks at Shouto pitifully, "don't you recognise your own big brother?" or, during a confrontation between Shouto and Dabi, the villain reveals something Shouto never expected to hear.


There's a moment of silence where everything is suspended; the heroes stare down the villains, vice versa. And then, they disperse. They run off in all different directions and the heroes follow suit, each tailing a single one. Shouto follows his target into a room filled with vats. He wonders if this was done on purpose, if he was intentionally led into an area with plenty of hiding spaces and cover. He hears movement, and barely catches a glimpse of spiky black hair when he whips his head around. Just as he's about to venture forwards, something comes up behind him.

Shouto's reflexes take over, and he catches the hand before it can touch him. It doesn't feel like normal skin, and he immediately realises who he's about to face. He turns around slowly.

"Dabi?"

Surprisingly, the villain doesn't attack. For some reason, Shouto doesn't either. He isn't sure why. There's some part of him telling him to hold back, so he does. He's still on high alert though, watching every bit of movement coming from the man in front of him. Right now, a wide grin is creeping across his scarred face.

"My, my! What are the chances! I must say, I am so glad you were the one to come after me. I'd been waiting for an opportunity like this. I even considered sneaking into your dorms, but," he cocks his head, "that wouldn't go well, would it?"

At a loss for words, Shouto can only stare. He doesn't understand why the villain is so interested in him, and wonders whether he has a vendetta against Endeavour. Dabi walks around a bit, as much as he can with Shouto still grasping his wrist and eyeing him. He appeared amused at Shouto's glare, but simply shrugged and continued. Once the silence lingers for a moment too long, however, he speaks again.

"Oh Shouto," Dabi shakes his head and looks at Shouto pitifully, "don't you recognise your own big brother?"

The words shock Shouto. He freezes in place. This can't be true—it _can't _be. He falters, and Dabi pulls his hand back. He raises both hands and walks around himself once before facing Shouto again.

"To be honest," there's an exaggerated expression of pain on the villain's face now, it seems like he's mocking Shouto, "I'm a bit hurt. But then again, you _were_ always kept away from us, weren't you? Couldn't let the 'perfect product' mix with the _'failures'_." He spits that last one out with venom, and it makes Shouto recoil.

"I'd always felt sorry for you, you know? It broke my heart to hear your screams and cries, followed by Mum's. I confronted your dad about it once, and he said 'if you want me to stop, you should've been born with his Quirk instead. Then, neither Natsuo nor Shouto would've been conceived'." Dabi chuckled bitterly, a small blue flame alight above his left palm now. "That man was a monster. I rejected him as my father not long after he rejected me."

The ball of fire swirls, growing larger, then shrinking, as Dabi plays around with it, watching it closely. He suddenly extends his hand outwards, and Shouto immediately goes into an offensive position, legs bent, stance low, ice already starting to form.

"Nuh-uh," Dabi moves his finger from side to side, "I wouldn't do that if I were you." He leans forwards, face right in front of Shouto's, so that Shouto is staring into eyes the same colour as his left. His heart beats hard and fast, it's loud in his ears. "Fire melts ice. And my fire? Beats yours." He steps back, and Shouto feels like he can finally breathe again. "Besides, it's not like I was actually going to hurt you. It was a peace offering, if you will." Shouto narrows his eyes, sceptical, and Dabi lets out a bitter chuckle. "Come on, Shouto! Can't we just talk? Brother to brother? Don't tell me you've even forgotten my name!"

Shouto shakes his head desperately, and tries to reply, but finds that the words are lodged in his throat. He feels like he's choking, and knows that the next breath he takes will be in a new world—one he never would've imagined, but must face nevertheless.

"Tou—Touya," he manages finally. "My eldest brother's name is Todoroki Touya."

Dabi tilts his head back upon hearing it, face up towards the ceiling, eyes closed, and takes in a massive breath, inhaling through his nose, out through his mouth. If Shouto had any doubts before, they're all gone now. As he watches the villain take in the sound of his real name, he recognises all the details he seemingly missed before. He was kept away from his siblings, yes, but they still lived in the same house. They were still family. He sees fire red hair, which wasn't as pointed as it is now. He wonders if it's styled so that it sticks out more. He sees turquoise eyes, with a speck of grey, the two colours reflected on his own face. He sees his older brother, right there in the flesh, as if he'd never left four years ago.

But then he blinks, and the image is gone. His vision is filled with black hair, as dark as night, and the familiar appearance of scarring, except these are purple in colour. It's a villain who stands before him, whose organisation has wreaked havoc and caused pain. Shouto wants to ask what went wrong, how things ended up this way, but he thinks he already knows. He knows that Touya is gone too, now. He no longer exists.

Except, when Dabi makes eye contact again, when he talks in a tone without any hidden agendas, without a single hint of malice, Shouto has trouble believing his own words. There's a gentle smile on the man's lips, and Shouto can only think of his oldest brother, who'd snuck out one night to check up on him after a brutal day of training, who held him and told him he'd be okay, he would make it through this and become stronger than ever, and better than anyone else. He spoke in a soft tone then as well, with a smile so sure Shouto couldn't _not_ believe him.

"How _is_ the family?"

"They're good," Shouto replies, and it's true. His mum seems happier every time he goes and sees her; his sister texts him exciting stories about work all the time, asking if things like that happen at U.A. too; he goes out with Natsuo here and there when they're both free, making up for lost time. This is the closest they've been to actually being like a family, Shouto thinks. He doesn't say any of this, though. For some reason he doesn't think Dabi—Touya—has the right to know. The man nods slightly, as if he understands.

"Ah. That's nice to hear. Nee-chan was always so sweet. She begged me so hard not to go, you know? On her knees and everything. It brought me to tears, honestly, and I almost listened. And Natsuo, oh Natsuo. I tried to convince him once to join me but… He said he couldn't. There was you, and Nee-chan, and Mum. Someone had to stay to look out for you guys."

"Nii-chan _knows_?" Something resembling anger starts to blossom. Shouto doesn't understand why Natsuo didn't say anything, or even provide the smallest of hints that Touya was still alive.

"Well of course. We were always very close. For a while after we kept in contact, we'd meet up whenever we had the chance. After I got… settled, into my new life, I guess, we couldn't see each other as often. And before I knew it, we stopped altogether. He didn't know _Dabi_ though, but I have no doubt he recognised me. These," he holds up his arms, "are pretty hard to miss."

Shouto… He doesn't know what to say. Out of all the things, a family reunion was what he expected least. But as he looks at Dabi now, he wonders how easily that could've been him as well. He thinks about how he's going to tell Natsuo this, and how they could maybe work up to telling Fuyumi and Mum as well. It's gotten him excited, strangely, like how he used to feel upon receiving a gift when he was a young child. The first thing he was taught though, was to never let your guard down, and he's reminded why when a portal suddenly appears between him and Dabi. The dark fog brings Shouto back to his first encounter with the villain, and the words he uttered then make so much sense now.

"Oh," Dabi starts, "looks like we've finished." He smiles again, but it's no longer kind. Any remnants of Touya have vanished. In his place is a cruel, cold-hearted criminal. A killer too, as they've learned. "Don't tell anyone, yeah? Or else those new friends of yours won't be 'friends' anymore. I look forward to seeing you again, little brother." He steps into the portal, and Shouto lunges at him. Before he can reach, however, Dabi unleashes a blast of fire, and Shouto barely manages to get a wall of ice up in time. The residual heat melts the ice, and once it's all gone there's nothing behind it. Dabi is gone. The room is now completely empty; the villains have escaped.

Shouto is left in a state of shock. He's barely aware of his surroundings anymore; the sound of shouting and footsteps running in the distance is completely drowned out. He's slowly brought to his knees, still in a daze, curling over so that his head touches the ground. He closes his eyes, takes in a single, deep breath, and then everything comes crashing down. He starts to sob, uncontrollably, and it's like when he first started using his Quirk. He wasn't able to restrain his ability, his fire and ice would clash, and he'd be hurt in the process. It hurts now, too. A burning in his chest, something squeezing his heart so hard it feels like it'll burst.

There's suddenly a voice that's very clear, saying, "Hey, keep your chin up, okay?". It's something Touya used to tell him, before patting his cheeks and sneaking him a lolly, or toy. Shouto lifts his head now, and is greeted by a dark, dingy setting. He hears his name being called, and gets up to follow it. He falters before he steps out the door, pauses for a moment, but doesn't look back.

It's all in the past now.


End file.
